In a future where corporate greed has depleted the Earth's resources, humanity has taken to space to acquire the goods needed for survival. The asteroid belt was supposed to be the great salvation, an almost limitless bastion of metal and minerals which could be used to prop our depleted world up. However, the same corporations that harvested the Earth dry laid claim to all the most bountiful asteroids, forming a syndicate that continued to subjugate even the most powerful of the world's governments. That's where you come in. In one last great experiment in capitalism, you'll be claiming stake in the New Martian Colonies, the last place within humanity's reach that hasn't been claimed by the hand of the syndicates.

Offworld Trading Company is being produced by Stardock, developed by Mohawk Games, and headed by Soren Johnson, Civilization IV's lead designer. It's a real-time strategy where there are no armies to move, units to build, or cities to conquer. Instead your fight is purely financial; sell high, buy low, and bankrupt the competition. It's still in Steam Early Access, but the main gameplay modes are already all there. There's a dynamic campaign in which you'll play through a series of scenarios to make your way to the top of the Martian economy. They've also integrated a fairly intuitive set of tutorials that help get you into the game quickly, as well as take you through the advanced mechanics if you need the extra help. Multiplayer is also fully integrated, although when I checked there weren't a ton of people playing the game yet.

Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth released to mixed reactions. I loved how it took the took the classic gameplay to alien worlds, and I especially appreciated its underlying narrative about the future of the human race. Other long-time fans of the series saw it as derivative of Civ V, with too little added and too much stripped out.

Like it or not, one thing that Beyond Earth has done is to lay the foundation for Sid Meier's Starships. It continues the story of the human settlements on an alien planet, far enough into the future that they are able to travel between stars in less time than the initial exodus from Earth took. The result: a series of skirmishes for control of a very tiny galaxy. Sure, why not?

Paradox is sticking with, "let’s talk about our product on its own merits" tact with its upcoming city-builder from developer Colossal Order, but I am under no such nice-marketing guide (nor do I know tact, as this post will confirm).

Cities: Skylines is looking to be what busted ol' SimCity should’ve been.

This turn-based fantasy/strategy with city-building elements is super enjoyable. Even in Steam Early Access, it's got a surprising amount of polish, more so than several AAA games I can think of. I have encountered no gamebreaking bugs, and the main problems right now seem to be stat balance and unimplemented art.

If you enjoyed the RPG elements of Heroes of Might and Magic and the city-building of Civilization, there's a lot to like in this game's eclectic blend of gameplay. However, if turn-based gameplay isn't really your thing, Steam's $39.99 price tag may be a bit too steep.

What a busy year this is going to be for Atlus. With the release of Persona 5 in the coming months, there are a lot of expectations for what's ahead with the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. In order to keep fans satiated till then, the publisher is offering another dose of MegaTen with a revisit to another much-loved title.

Just last month, Atlus released the follow-up to Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 in Japan. As an updated version of the Nintendo DS's Devil Survivor 2, the new 3DS release will have players re-experiencing the events of the original game along with a new story to unfold. Though fans in the west were left wondering about the fate of its release on this end, all we got was a vague confirmation that it was coming with no concrete date set.

Fortunately during a special hands-on session hosted by Atlus, the publisher has now revealed plans for the western release of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breakeron May 5, 2015. Now on a new system, this ultra-quirky and devilishly difficult take on the MegaTen formula will get players to experience Devil Survivor 2 in a fresh way.

The derelict building was a sanctuary, a place to gather supplies and take shelter from the horrors of the outside world. I moved from one chamber to the next, anxiously investigating the structure, sighing in relief upon clearing the final alcove. No hostiles. It was safe. Or so I thought.

It charged through the door the moment I lowered my guard, almost as though it was reading my mind, just waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I attempted to defend myself, but it was too late. The hulking abomination had me cornered and wasted no time running me down.

This is the cruel world of Noct, a nightmarish landscape from the mind of Chris Eskins.

That's what I have to keep telling myself while agonizing over the release of Mortal Kombat X. As someone who logged nearly 7,000 matches into the last Mortal Kombat, and still plays Injustice from time to time, any new info is good news, and NetherRealm has recently dropped a lot of details on the game's online modes.

The original Breach & Clear was a tactical strategy title in the vein of the XCOM or Rainbow Six series. It was fairly surprising when its sequel Breach & Clear: Deadline turned out to be an open-world tactical action RPG with zombies, which is probably a new genre and you heard it here first. I was skeptical of the idea at first; I mean tactical and zombie games are usually worlds apart in gameplay style, but after 30 minutes or so of play those fears were laid to rest.

The events of the game take place during an outbreak of "zombies" who are not zombies, but hyper-evolving parasitic worm infested human bodies. You play as a team of highly trained soldiers who make it their mission to protect the remaining humans of Harbor City, and stop the infestation at its source. Plot isn't a strong suit in Deadline, but the execution is quite a bit of fun, and sometimes it's nice to not have to concern yourself with an epic tale.

I'll be the first to say it: it's going to be the year of Souls. With the release of Bloodborne only a month away, which looks to redefine the experience along with its wonderful change of setting, From Software has been busy as of late. But that's not stopping the studio from re-releasing its previous titleDark Souls II for new audiences on new hardware.

Recently, the developers released an update for existing versions of Dark Souls II for all players, adding in an invasion faction, characters, and even new encounters. Of course, this is to ease them into what Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin has to offer. Though there's been little information about what to expect from this revisit, the folks behind the title had a lot to say about it.

At a special Bandai Namco Games event last week, Destructoid got to go hands-on with the new and improved version of Dark Souls II and chat with Bandai Namco global producer Atsuo Yoshimura. Though many see it as simply a remaster, From Software thinks of it as much more.

“If I am mad, it is mercy! May the gods pity the man who in his callousness can remain sane to the hideous end!” – Howard Phillips Lovecraft, The Temple

As you might be aware by now, Darkest Dungeon is a visually striking, turn-based role-playing game featuring roguelike elements with a very clever twist. Unlike conventional RPGs, Red Hook's incorporates a unique system of psychological pressures and their subsequent side effects that run parallel and eventually intertwine with your party's development, creating an entirely new experience each time that you roll a new game.

As your party gains in experience by adventuring through these darkened and harrowing lands, you'll follow the familiar routine of periodically upgrading their particular abilities and equipment, making each character a little more effective at what they do as you progress. What makes Darkest Dungeon so singular is that second set of mechanics I mentioned: the Affliction system.

It's not too often we see a major publisher humbled. With the announcement of Battlefield Hardline last year, EA and Visceral Games were ready to release another entry in the epic and grandiose Battlefield series. But soon after, they decided to hold off, and push the rather ambitious title back to 2015. After taking in its criticisms and lumps from the original beta release, they figured this was one one title they didn't want to botch.

Moving the battlefield away from the military setting, Hardline brings the combat to the cities and streets across the U.S. as the police and criminals battle for control. As the first Battlefield game not set in a military conflict, the developers at Visceral Games wanted to make sure they knocked it out of the park. And in order to do so, they had to put players first and listen to what the community wanted.

In a special preview session with their second upcoming beta, playable on February 3-8, EA invited Destructoid out to get some early hands-on with it, where we had a chat with Battlefield Hardline's executive producer Steve Papoutsis. During our talk, we learned what they took in from its initial beta, and how important it was to give the best of what the series is all about.

You ever wonder what it's like to be a character in a videogame? Most people would think of something pleasant like Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog, not someone from Resident Evil or Silent Hill. But what would it be like to be in a game that's currently in development? One that's constantly in flux, similar to the classic Daffy Duck cartoon Duck Amuck. Would you still be you one year from now after several changes have been made? And who the hell is making all these changes?

That's a scenario former developers from Arkane Studios and Irrational Games want to tackle. At PAX Prime 2014, the developers of the newly-formed studio Question brought an early build of The Magic Circle, a game within a game. Players got to experience the results of a chaotic game development period in all its gory details as they tried to set things right. It made quite an impression at the Indie Mega Booth, with attendees calling it "punk" and a neat "retro" title.

We've been keeping our eye on this title ever since. Given special access to the current beta build of The Magic Circle, Destructoid had the opportunity to experience a sizable chunk of Question's upcoming existentialist adventure title.

Trendy Entertainment has already bestowed Dungeon Defenders II upon its most invested fans. In fact, they've had it for more than a month now. "Invested" is the only way to describe those people -- both financially and mentally -- as that's what it takes to pay an Early Access fee for a game that will eventually be free-to-play.

But, those same fans get the privilege of seeing Dungeon Defenders II along as it's molded through the development cycle, and better yet, they'll get to help shape it too. Early adopters are "rewarded" with influence points that allow them to vote on future game features. It's unknown how far their reach has extended thus far, but someone's doing something right with Dungeon Defenders II.

If you were to take booths' popularity at PAX South and plot them on a heat map, most of the obvious candidates would stick out. Twitch would be red hot, as it constantly had a flurry of people swarming to watch their favorite streamers. Dreadnought would be lit up too, because it was one of the largest displays and the crowd seemed to take a liking to it.

But, there would be one outlier far back among the indie titles. Knight Squad, made by Chainsawesome Games, had a constant throng of people mulling about at all times. You wouldn't expect it given the location, but it was a party back there. Once you had a crack at the game, you'd understand why -- because Knight Squad is an incredibly fun multiplayer game.

I got the opportunity to play a decent chunk of Revelations 2 last year, and I was pretty impressed with how the mystery was being brought back to the series. Dabbling into episodic gaming, this installment is set to be released through four episodes; one will release every week from February 24th to March 18th. It's a pretty experimental, and unique take on Resident Evil, and that might be just what the franchise needs.

But just before its debut next month, the folks at Capcom invited me out to get another crack at their experiment. And during my session, I got reacquainted with an old buddy from the series' past, and even got to take the new and improved Raid Mode for a test run.